The Black Mask is without a doubt the single most important magazine
for the modern mystery field. In its pages writers such as Earl Stanley Gardner
and Dashiell Hammett reshaped the established view of mystery fiction, creating
the tough-guy sleuth. The May 1920 issue — the magazine's second —
shows the groundwork being laid for future issues, with a featured mystery novel
by Hamilton Craigie and plenty of fast-paced adventures by authors such as Greye
La Spina, Harold Ward, Frank Blighton and Walter Grahame.